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CommentsHarvesting Abroad
417-landers Ron and Marilyn Hill took to Italy with Springfield restaurateur Bruno Gagiulo to live like a local during the grape harvest.
By Brittany Leckey, Photos by Ron Hill
(page 1 of 2)
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Bruno and his grapes, in Italy. |
Choosing Sicily
This past September, 417-landers Ron and Marilyn Hill had the opportunity to experience that vacation when they visited Springfield restaurateur Bruno Gargiulo’s villa just outside of Palermo, Sicily. The Hills own EuroWorld Designs, an architectural design firm in North Ozark, and first befriended Bruno at his downtown Springfield Italian restaurant, Bruno’s Il Ristorante. As designers of European and Old World-style homes in the Ozarks, the Hills draw most of their inspiration from the architecture scattered throughout the Italian and French countrysides. They find that a yearly trip to Europe helps them refresh their passion for the classic styles that inspire their gorgeous, detail-rich homes.They mentioned to Bruno that they would love to visit Sicily, an island that had evaded their previous excursions to Europe. Generously, Bruno invited them to stay at his restored villa in the village of Geraci Siculo, about 70 miles outside of Palermo on the northern coast of the island.
Bruno purchased the 300-year-old villa while he was on vacation nearly 10 years ago. “I just fell in love with it—fell in love with the town—and needed to buy it,” he says. The house is situated down the hill from the village, overlooking a valley containing pasture and vineyards. Necessary renovations took several years, but just like the renovations of his restaurant in Springfield, retaining the original architectural integrity and charm of the building was of utmost importance. Now it serves as his yearly vacation home as well as the origin of his restaurant’s table wine.
September is grape harvesting season in Italy, so the Hills met Bruno at the house, and they were eager to help out. With the help of several locals, they combed the vineyards to collect the grapes needed to make the medium-bodied, cabernet-merlot blend. The only downside for Ron was that being tall is not an advantage to grape harvesting. The 5-foot-tall locals could stand up straight and collect the grapes with skill and quickness honed from years of practice, while 6-foot Ron had to stoop to access the vines.
After the group alleviated lower-back pain with some wine, bread and cheese, the grapes were transported to Bruno’s cellar to become his newest vintage.
Bruno is considering further expanding the villa to accommodate a bed and breakfast open to friends from around the world. Bruno has found that most American travelers tend to isolate their Italian tours to major cities such as Rome, Florence and Venice. He recommends that if guests simply expand their transatlantic journey by another hour, a flight from Rome to Sicily will open their vacation to countless towns and villages nestled in the hillsides. Centuries of tradition are available to tour by simply renting a Smart Car, programming the destination into a GPS navigator, and braving the fierce Italian traffic from town to town along the coast, viewing castles, monasteries and churches.
